Going Down with You
by RegaliaAL
Summary: Fox is an assasin, on solo. Sakura Haruno gets kidnapped, betrayed by her collegue, and held hostage with a ransom fund. Fox has to transport her to the meeting point within 6 days. will they make it? And Sakura isn't really "clean" with ANBU in danger
1. Chapter 1

**Going Down with You**

**Summary: Fox is an assassin working solo, transports important clients in exchange for money without the need to know the details. When Sakura Haruno gets kidnapped and held hostage with an enormous ransom fund, and gets betrayed by the bank's CEO, Sasuke Uchiha, Fox has to transport her to the meeting site even though Sakura is his best friend. But there's a glitch, she **_**and**_** Fox are strapped with bombs that would tick off if they get separated from each other. **_**And**_** Sakura Haruno isn't as "clean" as she claims to be…**

_(Inspired from _Transporter 3)

Chapter 1 – _Kidnapped_

**UCHIHA & HARUNO'S, KONOHA, NORTH JAPAN **** 11:43 PM**

"Yes, sir. We've made the transaction a few minutes ago. The client would reply to it within a few hours. Yes. No, not really. It's ok, we'll handle it. No, Takashi already left for Beijing an hour ago, with the documents…" Sakura rolled her eyes, clenching her fists at how annoying the client is… "alright, sir. Bye."

She hang up, and muttered, "Oh, fuck you, asshole!"

"Another insisting client?" a cold voice said, behind her.

She stretched her sore arms, and nodded, her pink locks falling in her eyes. "Yep. We're getting more of them by the months… What happened to the calm understanding ones?"

Her colleague, Sasuke Uchiha, CEO of the bank, sat on her desk, smirking, "Guess they retired, and I don't blame them…"

Sakura snorted, "They must be spending their days laughing at us…lucky geezers…"

She was rewarded with a cold stare from him, but after knowing him for 16 years, she knew he was inwardly laughing at her sarcastic comment. "Listen, it's nearly 8. And my friends and I are inviting you to _Casper and Gambini's_. Wanna come?"

Sakura raised her light pink eyebrows, "Friends? You mean these selfish bastards that hang out with u?"

He nodded, already grabbing her coat and throwing it at her face, which she caught easily. She stood up, grimacing…"Do I really have to go?"

"Let me see. Would you like to hang out with Ino, shopping until your credit card screams for mercy, or take a few good drinks at an awesome restaurant?"

Sakura rubbed her jeans legs, "I'd go with a few good drinks!"

_**CASPER & GAMBINI'S**_**, KONOHA OUTSKIRTS, JAPAN**** 01:34 AM**

Sakura hiccupped, "I gotta…admit! This is..so,..*hic* good!"

Sasuke laughed, "You got wasted, huh?"

Sakura frowned and slapped him on the face, and hiccupped, "Hang-over …*hic* is a _bitch!_" and she collapsed on the asphalt.

Sasuke smiled, and his drunk look washed off to be replaced one with ultimate darkness and a very stony look… he pulled out his phone, and speed dialed a number… "Yes. She's down, just as you predicted. I must say, you are quiet a sidekick, my friend!"

He went down to one knee and ruffled through Sakura's camo bag, searching for something, anything that would confirm his doubts about his mysterious collegue. As he was busy opening her wallet, an ID card fell down on the road. He picked it up and turned it, his eyes going wide in shock.

"No fucking….way! She's … no… who the hell is she!" he muttered, apparently in shock and his mind going a million miles an hour with this shocking news… '_Sakura isn't just a normal civilian and a Finance Manager… she's an as–'_

"Well done, Sasuke. We'll take it from here…" Sasuke looked up to see a man walking out in normal civilian clothes, jeans and a black T-shirt which hid the true life of this man. He responded to the name of Sai, and known in the black market world as Japan's best thief and one of the _Yakuza_.

Because he was abnormally pale, with short-cropped black hair, Sai operated at night, and faking his identity as an artist in the day. He was the boss of his own section, _Roots_ in the Yakuza as well.

His men picked up the wasted Haruno and tied her up with hard sailor ropes and duct tape across her mouth. They dumped her in the trunk of the Toyota, which was already bullet-proof and slammed the trunk shut.

Sasuke handed Sai the Haruno's purse and her special ID. The Yakuza's black eyes glittered with wonder and he smiled a tight smile, "Well, I guess we just grabbed the person we're trying to eliminate. I'll make sure I torture her enough before I hand her a death she deserves…"

Sasuke nodded, and internally, he didn't even pity his collegue's fate. Ever since she entered the building, he had high doubts about her… and in the banking world, doubts can distract you, and she was a big distraction. But, he just eliminated her and her _other_ life… 2 birds with one stone…

Sai snickered and patted the Uchiha's shoulders, "Just seeing you turns me on…"

The Uchiha stepped away, revolted and disgusted… Sai was also the world's gayest guy…

Sai sighed and gave him a sick smile before turning around and climbing inside the black, tinted Toyota. "See you around, Sasuke. And you'll find your reward tomorrow morning in your bank account. Thanks a million!"

And they drove off.

Sasuke walked the other direction to a secluded side alley to find his Mazda waiting for him. But there were a few bitches hanging around, and once they spotted him, they walked up to his car and sat on the front of it, giving the Uchiha a lustful look.

"Nice car you've got…" one of them said, carelessly pulling apart her legs and meowing at him.

Sasuke smirked, "What are you three doing here?"

The second batted her eyelashes at him and walked over to him in a seductive way…."What a fucking dumb question. We missed you, Sasuke-_kun_…" she whispered in his ears, and already grinded her lower body on his side.

The third managed to find his keys and climbed inside. Sasuke sighed, "You piss me off, you know…"

They giggled and dragged him to his car and the three climbed inside. They were actually the secretaries in the bank, and the three were Sasuke's personal bitches. Sasuke sighed, '_I won't sleep on my own tonight…Oh well, I want all these troubles to fade anyway…'_

**KONOHA OUTSKIRTS**** 4:53 AM**

His iPhone rang. Twice. '_Can't they just leave me alone?'_ he growled as he twisted a man's arm tight and kicked his ass. Hard.

He yelped and was spead-eagled on the ground. He turned to see another coming at him with a knife, but the man was soon kissing the asphalt as he got kicked in the groins hard. The person picked up, "What?" he growled.

"Well, I can see you're still awake, Fox."

Fox frowned, "Do I know you?" he asked, and spotted another gang closing in on him. He sighed and listened to the mysterious caller as he started taking the stupid assholes down, two at a time.

The person at the other end chuckled, "No. But you soon will know me. I've heard a lot about you, and your ability to perform tasks solo."

Fox sighed, "Can't it wait for the morning at least?" he asked, and looked at the gang, "I'm kind of busy right now."

The guy still chuckled, "And your great ability at multi-tasking is simply captivating. But I'm sorry, this job can't wait because it's got a short shelf-life."

Fox groaned, in the street talk, _short shelf-life_ meant that the job needs to be done within days before the company at the receiving end cancels the deal. And usually this is very dirty business with dirty money. It's mostly hostages and ransom funds to be paid. But the person doing this dirty work receives a hefty amount of money, everything in cash. And freedom from any jobs for at least 3 months.

"Alright. What's the package?" Fox asked, in his professional voice as he finally knocked out the last gang member and climbing up the roof with ease.

"The package is a very important person, a Finance Manager. Meet us at the main highway, 20 kilometers from Tokyo, in one hour."

Naruto nodded, but as well as groaning. He had this feeling this job will get very sticky and complicated…

How very true he was…


	2. Chapter 2

**Going Down With You**

Chapter 2: We got company!

**T1 HIGHWAY, 20 KM FROM TOKYO, JAPAN**** 5:14 AM**

Sai checked his watch, and his mind sparked with joy when he heard the distant roars of an engine tearing down the wide Highway T1. '_Fox…'_ he thought and then smiled once he saw a beautiful black Audi R8 GT racing towards them at 140 km/hr. The driver then applied the brakes and the car performed a perfect sliding stop, inches from where Sai was standing.

The driver then stopped the engine and walked out, revealing a tall, slim and fit man with unruly blond hair and piercing blue eyes. Under these eyes were three diagonal scars, thin probably caused by a knife marking the hard life of a trained assassin? He was calm, regarding Sai and immediately recognizing him as the leader and the one who called.

Said clapped his hands, "18 minutes. You never cease to impress me, Fox. Your profile doesn't say much, and you hide many great talents–"

"Can we cut down the impressive talents about me and go straight for the kill?" Fox cut in.

Sai usually hates being interrupted but he'd have to make an exception for this specific assassin. He smiled and made a hand gesture to one of his men. He nodded and walked to the back of the Toyota.

Sai turned back to Fox and smiled, "Well, this is the deal. She needs to be delivered or in your case, transported, to Miyasaki within the coming 6 days, starting from today at 6 AM. After that, none of the events is your business. You will be paid $10k a day. All of it will be transferred to your bank account."

Fox snorted, "That's it? No bad guys on the way? Just 6 days with your package and I get $60,000?"

Sai sighed, he was getting on his nerves. "Fine, I'll increase it to $6 million. And there might be the good guys trying to grab the package. Your job is to transport her… alive to Miyazaki and make sure the good guys don't get her back."

"What if the good guys really do grab her, and I'm powerless to transport her to Miyazaki?" Fox asked.

Sai smiled, "Well, we'll take care of that easily," he said and walked up to the assassin, annoyed he only reached Fox's chin, and with one swift motion clasped a metal bracelet on his left arm.

"This baby here has a twin, which is already strapped to the package. And has a meter, with different colors. A distance of 1 meter marks violet. If the distance between them increases up to 500 meters, the marker turns green. If 1000 meters separate u, it turns blood red and u have 5 seconds to take it off, which is nearly impossible until I do it, with this tiny remote," he explained, pointing to a remote with a green and red button, "And after these 5 seconds, both of go boom! Is that clear enough for you, Fox?"

Fox nodded, and remained emotionless. But internally, he feared for his life. This was one fucking messed up mission. But he was now strapped and ready to go in 35 minutes. He also made a mental note not to get too personal with the package because she'd be a whole lot of trouble for him after the 6 days. And she'd be already dead.

On many occasions, Fox had affairs with the female packages he transported or was forced to kill, and his poor heart was and is still now a total mess. The only one who would sort it out was a certain pink-haired Haruno, but he never had the chance to tell how he truly felt, in fear of ruining their friendship for the past 21 years… yes, he had known her all his life, and they were both best friends.

'_it's not like she's here, anyway…'_ he thought, but everything crashed back down when he saw the big buff men carry a woman, tied up with hard ropes, on their shoulders like a sac of potatoes.

She was abnormally calm, either because she was used to it or she decided it was useless to fight them. But when Sai, the man who called him, took out the leather bag covering the package's face, Fox's heart stopped.

Sakura Haruno was staring right into his eyes, her brilliant green eyes going wide in shock, and her mouth covered in duct tape. Her light pink hair was mis-cut, and Fox remembered it was longer than that.

Fox quickly hid his shocked look with a look of indifference, but it was hard. '_What the fuck is she doing here? Why her of all Finance Managers in Konoha!_ _What did she do to make her get kidnapped?'_

Sai chuckled, tracing a finger along the pinkette's jaw line, and Fox wanted to kill him down right there. How dare he touch her like this! "Well, this annoying woman didn't manage to make an important transaction in the right time… so, in a matter of minutes, I decided to take revenge on her and her family…"

Sakura furiously mumbled something and Fox, an expert at this could as well have chuckled. She was swearing a bit too much on the short guy. Sai then slapped her hard, and Fox suddenly was there, and quickly muttered, "Listen, in 10 minutes, I'll be off on the road. Now, if you don't mind, I've got a job to do. And you know I'd hate to see packages get excess physical abuse!"

Sai looked at him, and nodded. His men quickly cut her loose and Sakura rubbed her arms slowly, giving them all a death glare. Sai then smiled sickly at her, and the pinkette crossed her arms, glaring at the other direction.

"We have gotten rid of any devices that would locate her by GPRS so you two are ready to go. But be careful, you never know what might happen in those coming 6 days," Sai explained, "Call me once you reach Yamasaki!" but Fox was already at the car, getting inside with Sakura shortly afterward. He revved the engine of the Audi and both took off, far away from him.

Fox gently removed the duct tape from Sakura's mouth, and she looked away from the window, her shoulders tense. An awkward silence issued and then she started, "Naruto–"

"No. Don't worry, I'll get you outta this fucking mess."

Sakura looked back at him, tears welling up in her beautiful green eyes, "Sasuke…did it…"

Fox, who was actually Naruto, had his mouth hanging open in shock. "You gotta be kidding me! That asshole!"

Sakura looked down, clenching her fists. "They only want to wipe me out. I know too much. I already knew that this piece of shit was in dirty business with big companies, like Toyota, Toshiba… and so on…"

Naruto put a hand on her shoulder, "I know someone who already took an espionage mission to investigate him. She actually infiltrated in the bank."

Sakura looked at him, curious. "Really?" she asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yep. We know her as Blossom and she–"

"LOOK OUT!" Sakura suddenly yelped, leaning to grab the wheel and swerving hard to the left. "We got company!"

Naruto looked around, and spotted a distant object flying towards them. Sakura didn't hesitate and swerved hard to the right, narrowly missing the missile. Naruto yelled at her, "Buckle up. Now!"

They were both held securely by the seat belts and Naruto pressed a special red button. Suddenly, Sakura felt her head instantly fall back as the modified R8 GT went at 160 km/hr with ease. Naruto growled, his face suddenly dark with hatred as he expertly avoided all the missiles being shot at him.

Sakura sighed, and climbed to the back of the car with ease, even though the car was going at an insane speed. Naruto then found his voice and shouted, "Sakura? What are you doing?" he yelled.

"Shut up and drive!" she yelled back, finally finding the leather box she knew Naruto always used for…um…_complicated_…matters. She snapped it open and pulled out a missile launcher, clasping the missile on top of its head and crawling to the right seat, strapping herself to the seat belt and aiming straight for the uncoming missile.

It was a movement-sensitive missile, so it would follow the Audi until it hits it. And it didn't realize that in that Audi, there was a missile launcher which can destroy it. The pinkette expertly rolled down the window a little bit, twisted around and closed one eye for a perfect aim. Even at 160 km/hr, Sakura knew how to destroy it.

She fired with a dead aim, and quickly pulled her head back in as the explosion started, a few meters from where they were. Naruto swerved hard to the left to avoid the big chunks of burnt metal and fire to touch his Audi. Once they had taken out missile 1, missile 2 and 3 came out of nowhere.

Naruto turned to Sakura and yelled out, "Since when do u know how to destroy a missile!"

Sakura clasped another missile and took aim, firing it to destroy #2. She then unfastened her seat belt, and leapt onto the shotgun seat with a big grenade in her hands, taking it out of her jacket. She pulled off the trigger and threw it with all her strength (and believe me, she has an impressive strength) to the vast scenery of the prairies. The missile, as expected flew to track down the big grenade and they both made contact, exploding into a fiery ball of fire.

Sakura rolled up the window and sighed, wiping sweat off her forehead. But Naruto wasn't done talking, "Sakura?"

She looked at him, "Hmm?"

"You just took down 3 missiles in less than 3 minutes. There's only 2 types of people who know how to do that. SWAT or any secret police, and assassins with at least 4 years of training! How did you…?"

Sakura sighed, and looked around the car, checking if he had any cameras. When she was absolutely sure, she took a deep breath. Naruto spotted an exit route and his car was in need of fuel. "Sakura, I'm not done. U better start explaining stuff to me…"

Silence. Sakura didn't know if she should tell him. She was sworn not to reveal her identity to anyone, and her sensei Tsunade would very well remove her from the ranks…but she had lost her ID, all of her weapons, her money and even her iPhone. But thank God her more important phone was still with her, hidden in the secret pocket of her leather jacket…but still, she wouldn't tell him…yet.

"I … took some courses. You know, for self-defence. And there was this course on how to take out missiles. You know how I just love dangerous stuff, so I trained for this course."

Naruto still had his doubts, "Sakura, even training seminars don't teach you how to take them out on a moving car, going at 166 km/hr! You get to learn that through experience which takes years to master it. I know you're hiding something. Something big!" he yelled, and years of friendship with Sakura was something of second nature. They had fights.

Sakura glared at him, "Look. I'm going to die in 6 days and you're the one driving me to my death! So I think I can hide stuff from you."

"Well, you might secretly be of Japanese Special Forces! So you can save yourself!" Naruto snapped, stopping at the gas station.

Sakura, irritated, got out of the car. Naruto immediately panicked.

"Where are you going?" he yelled, looking down at his wrist to see the marker come to life, with a dark blue color.

He didn't waste time and walked up to her, standing in front of Sakura. She glared at him, "Can't I go to the washroom, now?"

He grabbed her wrist, and pointing at it. "Look at this thing."

Sakura stubbornly shook him off, but Naruto didn't let her slip out of her in any way possible. "Leave me alone for 5 minutes, for god's sake!" she snapped, her infamous fury rising.

"These things are triggers! If you're away from me, a marker lights up! That's why I can't lose you out of my sight."

Sakura looked down and noticed that the color turned from dark blue to violet. She looked back up at Naruto, fear taking over her. She started shaking, but didn't want the tears to go down. "Ok…but can I go to the washroom now?"

He nodded, walking with her until the door. "Be careful. And make sure to get in and get out. Don't talk to anyone!"

Sakura nodded, and now knowing that even the most innocent of strangers can be the good guys, and if they get separated, they both die. After doing her thing, and washing her face and hands, she decided to change her look. She'll easily get caught by the good guys now that she was "kidnapped" and her father would surely be on the way making a big fuss out of it. Tears fell down her eyes as she thought of him, her mother and sister, Kate. _I'm gonna miss you guys a lot…_

And then there was Naruto. Her best friend since birth. And an assassin. She sighed, _why can't I bring myself to tell him, damnit!_ _He can help me, and he can save me…_

And then there was her complicated feelings towards him. She had helped him pull through all the worst heartbreaks, no matter how much it hurts her own heart, and he always thanked her, grateful to be her friend. But…she also wished she could have dated him, just like 5 years ago, at that prom… but now she was going to die, _I guess it's hardly the time to tell him. He'll be shocked for life…_ sighing, she stepped out of the bathroom and gave Naruto a small smile.

He smiled back and muttered, "Sorry for yelling out at you. Come on, let's get something to eat."

"Naruto, do you cash in you?"

He nodded, "more than enough. I just got back from a big mission."

"Can you give me some for these hair dyes?"

Naruto knew where she was going and nodded. He handed her some of his cash, and patiently waited for her in the bathroom while eating on a good spicy cheese sandwich. 5 minutes later, a changed Sakura stepped out.

Her beautiful pink hair was now filled with red streaks, cut shorter and in a spiky way, and it looked cleaner. She didn't need to change her eye color, because she looked totally different than the original Sakura.

Naruto leaned in to whisper, "You look hotter now…"

She giggled, pinching his arm hard enough for him to sense it, but he just snickered. Both of them got their drinks and sandwiches before hitting the road again, confidence rushing in them both.


	3. Chapter 3

**Going Down with You – 3**

Chapter 3: Till Death Separates Us –Sakura's POV–

**Highway Inn, 67 km from Tokyo**

_"So, Sakura! I see that everyone's here…everyone you deeply care about!" a cold voice echoed across the big empty and dark room. _

_I looked around and spotted several people, tied up and gagged, their ankles strapped to a big metal spike like prisoners. Where am I? Then, a light shone in on them and my heart stopped. I recognized them faster than a hearbeat._

_Mom. Dad. Yuki. Toshiro. My family! Oh…no…Ino, not Ino! _

_That cold voice snickered, and then laughed hysterically. "Oh my. Seeing a tiny weak pinky cry over her loved ones is so…cliché, don't you think?"_

Pinky! _But then, before I could even come with a witty comeback or an insult, a white-hot feeling spread from my back. I quickly bit down on my lip to prevent a roar of pain to erupt from me. But I didn't have time to say anything before another beating issued. It was a whip…I think. _

_They continued to beat me up, relentlessly without mercy. I could hear anguished screams everywhere, ghosts of familiar people floating around me. Was I finally getting nuts? What the fuck is happening to me! Stop this! Stop this pai–_

"AAAAAA!"

Cold sweat ran down my forehead as I panted, clutching the bed sheets tightly. The screams still echoed around me, but fainter than before. My vision slowly adjusted itself, but my heart was still pounding like a terrified animal's…

It was nighttime, and I found myself staring at the alarm clock. 4:13 AM. _"What…what…did I have nightmares about? That…cold voice…my parents… Ino…"_

Before I had time to even move, a soft knock was heard on my door. But it was enough to nearly give me a heart attack.

"Sakura? You ok?"

I slowly calmed down. Just hearing Naruto's voice reminded me of where I was and what happened before that nightmare. We were still at the inn, resting from the events that happened yesterday. I heard the door open slowly, and Naruto came inside, in his big orange t-shirt and baggy tracking pants.

His eyes were full of worry and fear in them. Despite him being an assassin, he sheds away that part of him and keeps it locked when I'm around… he was really a great friend…

"I – I …just a nightmare…no biggy…" I muttered, and inwardly cursed myself for sounding so weak…so vulnerable. _Get your grip, woman. You're stronger than you look!_ But maybe because my life was ending…I was feeling weak? No, I won't let this happen.

I need to focus. I need to save myself.

Naruto wasn't impressed, he still regarded me with his look that scans everything…even if it is tiny, to check if everything was really ok. It was part of being an assassin, right?

"Sakura… I heard you yell out your parent's names and Ino's. Tell me. You know I'm no stranger to you…"

_I've been such a bitch. It's impossible to hide stuff from him, no matter how much I've been sworn not to reveal it…_

I nodded to the chair, to sit down and listen. "I saw my family and Ino gagged in a cold dark room. There was that voice, but I didn't see a face. It was just saying the classic taunting words… and I was tortured…"

Naruto nodded slowly, and I felt his large warm hand slowly pat my back. "Sakura…even though I need to transport you to Miyasaki, that doesn't mean I'll abandon you. Not after all we've been through."

I nodded slowly, knowing that he meant it. Every word. But I wasn't so sure… _no, this WILL end up happily, I'll kick their asses. But…that means revealing my identity to him…and he…oh man, this sucks!_

Naruto still stared at me, but I knew he'd ask that question eventually. You can't leave your best friend in the dark for too long… but to my surprise, he stood up, the mattress underneath him rising back to its normal level.

"Please…don't hide stuff from me. You know I can help you. Actually I'll go call Blossom, even though she'll pester me, annoy me like always… she'll know what to make of it…ok?" he asked.

But I was on the verge of panic, and quickly nodded. _I have to put that damn Cube silent!_ So I thought of an idea and muttered, "Can…can u make the call in your room? I need…some time alone. I really don't need to talk to her just yet."

He went off not too heartily, still suspicious and hurt I still hid this secret. I felt guilty but I deserve some secrets between us, right?

Once he left, I grabbed my jacket and pressed my thumb at a special hidden pocket. Once my thumb got checked by infra-red laser, I quickly pulled the zipper and fumbled and finally found the thing.

It was ringing or more like vibrating and pulsing red.

"_Shit!"_ I said as I turned it on, rejected the call and pressed two buttons and it quickly went to silent mode but still pulsing.

The door opened and I knew I was busted. I was caught red-handed…

"Sak I forgot–" and he stopped once he saw me and the object in my hand. To any normal civilian, it would appear I had a small black cube in my hand. But to any assassin of the ANBU Black Ops, it was merely a cube.

"How did you… oh my god. I was right!" Naruto stammered; his blue eyes wide in shock as he saw the cube. He then looked at me, eyes wider… "who are you? Sak–"

_Crack!_

We jumped and suddenly we heard a clang and timer beep then I gasped, my mind blaring _'STUN GRENADE!'_ and we both fell to the ground, our eyes tightly shut and our hands covering our ears. I then quickly grabbed my jacket and backpack from below the bed after blindly groping for it.

Then the room cleared. Without hesitating, Naruto crawled to his room to grab his bag, until I saw the meter burst to life. It glowed blue. I panicked, remembering what Naruto had said about the bombs.

"_Naruto!"_ I hissed and then groaned as I heard rough voices of men barging up inside the room. Through half-closed eyes and hiding under the heater, I could see men from the special Japanese forces enter shouting orders to each other.

_Oh fuck, if I stay here any longer, they'll find us. If we get separated…no…I don't wanna know!_

"Show yourself! We're the Special Forces, and stand up, putting your hands up in the air!" one of them barked out.

_Well…here goes nothing…_ I said, trying to dislodge the big lump in my throat that was my heart.

Once I stood up, hands up in the air, I saw their faces flash relief then dim back to become emotionless. "Sakura Haruno, you are now in safe hands and in our custody. Please follow us back to the van."

I looked around, rather nervously at Naruto's empty room. _Where did that idiot go!_ Panic struck in me as I looked at the metal bracelet chained on my left wrist. The meter went back to violet. He was close now… but where?

Without warning, a figure rushed past me and the next thing I know, three men are down. The other two were yelling at each other in surprise. They didn't have time to know as I struck them both down with an uppercut.

"Since when were you a black belt again?" Naruto asked.

I laughed without humor. "10th grade."

"Ha! I was one at 8th grade," he said, grabbing my hand and motioning the ceiling. I immediately understood and gave him a nod.

He went first, throwing our bags to the balcony above ours and jumped swiftly to the railing and swung himself up. He came back and offered his hand. I grabbed it, then grabbed his other and hoisted myself up, next to him and grinning.

He gave me an odd look but then he swore.

"What?"

"We'll have to jump to the Audi and make a run for it. It's–"

"Risky I know. But it's our only chance. Or it's our death. C'mon!" I said, backing away and then Naruto soon joined me.

"Ready?" he asked.

I nodded, and put up three fingers. Once the last went down, we grabbed hands and ran as fast as possible to the railing, jumped on it and jumped _from_ it to the ground as close to the Audi as possible.

We landed on all fours but we didn't stop. We couldn't. Not when you have more than 10 good guys after your, armed to the teeth with deadly weapons.

"I drive, you shoot, okay?" I yelled.

He gave me one blink and tossed me the keys. I grabbed them swiftly and quickly pressed the button to unlock the doors. Getting in, I quickly revved the engine, making it roar to life and once Naruto closed the back door, rubber burnt on the asphalt and we were off.

"Hit the button, Sak!"

I hit it and mentally prepared myself for the sudden burst of acceleration. We went from 100 to 160 km/hr in less than five seconds! _Man, that's one sweet Audi!_

Naruto tapped my shoulder, "Check every angle, we're not alone."

I nodded tersely, "Gimme a gun."

Their was a short pause before something slipped down my chest. Looking down, my mouth formed a perfect 'o'…_my…my gun! How the fuck did he get my gun? _Pushing these thoughts aside, I grabbed _Sacrifice_ and cocked it, grinning it still had its silencer and that it was gunned to the max.

"3 o'clock!" Naruto suddenly yelled.

I turned my head sharply and squinted. A big black figure was heading straight for us. Then, it duplicated to become three black figures and they were flying.

"Missiles?" I asked.

"No, more like – Sak!"

"I get it, jeez!" I snapped, as I turned the Audi a hard left to avoid an oncoming truck. The driver was very angry and he probably had a near cardiac arrest but I won't really dwell on that anyway.

The black figures were now really close and I didn't waste time in firing at one of them with a dead aim. It quickly exploded, and the other two were dispatched easily with a grenade, probably thrown by Naruto. _He must have been trained under Tsunade as well, TenTen wasn't lying…_

"Naru, 6 o'clock!" I yelled, noticing three big vans racing towards us. _They won't leave us alone, damnit! _


	4. Chapter 4

**Going Down with You**

**Chapter 4 – New Enemies and a New Friend **–Sakura's POV–

The vans each had the huge SWAT sign on them, something both of us didn't expect. We quickly shared a nervous look. Naruto growled, "First, the Jap Special Forces. And now, it's SWAT!"

I sighed, "Naruto, we can't outrun–"

"Fuck yeah we can. Plus, you're obviously well-trained for high-speed car chases and weapon-handling. Now, drive and lose them!" Naruto harshly cut in. I didn't blame him. He obviously hated secrets hidden from him.

I focused my attention back on driving but no sooner than the Audi covered three miles, it suddenly jerked to a stop. The engine shuddered and skidded to a full stop. The radio – at a low volume – turned off along with the AC and the special red button.

"What the fuck!" we both yelled out.

We heard choppers circling us. And some female voice booming across to us. "This is the SWAT. Step out of the car with your hands in the air. Don't try anything foolish or we WILL knock you unconscious!"

We both sighed, the sigh of defeat as we stepped out of the Audi cautiously, our hands behind our heads and our eyes half-closed from the chaos in front of us. The three SWAT vans stopped and the men were filing out directly to us, machine guns and snipers trained on our heads, chest and legs for any sudden movement. In less than 5 seconds, we had no way out.

The choppers above us were slowly landing on the empty fields next to the highway. It wasn't really a highway, because the road was in a bad shape. It was the old highway. _How the fuck did they find us this quickly!_

Once the first chopper landed, a woman came out in a SWAT combat uniform but just one look at her made it clear she was the one ordering all these men around. What's worse, it was someone I knew a bit too well.

{Normal POV}

She had long black hair that was shimmering violet under the bright lights of the choppers with a long fringe, that was pulled back by the gusts of wind to reveal hard cold grey eyes. She was pointing a gun at the both of them.

But once she was within 2 meters from them, she froze, her eyes went wide "Well, well, well! Fox on the run with Blossom, huh?" she said loudly.

Sakura sighed, "Hi Freakshow."

"Freakshow" turned her head sharply to Sakura, and glared daggers at her but "Blossom" wasn't fazed. In fact she was used to it. "One, will you fucking stop calling me that! I outranked you, you bitch!"

Sakura just raised her eyebrows at her. But Naruto finally found his voice and stared at Freakshow. "Did you just say… _Blossom!_"

Freakshow nodded. Naruto rounded on Sakura, who was looking at the SWAT dudes. But he didn't say anything. It didn't need any more words.

"Alright, that's just the highlight of tonight! I caught the two birds with one stone. Finally! Now, mind explaining why the fuck the States even got in this trouble and –"

"Did Fugaku send you?" Sakura cut in.

Silence, then the woman nodded. "Yeah, he ordered a national capture with big money. You've gone into such–"

"Well, tell him that he'd better go and find his youngest _son_. He's the troublemaker. I'm on a very important mission. And get your fucking nose out of it, Hyuuga!"

The older woman was irritated and stared at Sakura for a long time. Then, she looked at Naruto who was closing his eyes and trying to be calm.

"Why? I can help you."

"No, you never did. Why are you offering then?" Sakura spat. Naruto and the rest of the men noticed there was hatred between the two women. Real hatred. Not the sappy jealousy/hurt one.

The black-haired woman glared at the pinkette – with red streaks – and yelled, "No, it's my business–"

"Shut up! You're giving me a headache, woman! And Sakura's right. It's a mission, rated S. Don't tell me you joined ANBU as well," Naruto interrupted, holding his head and glaring at the Hyuuga.

The said woman lashed out at them, "What the hell! You can't even tell me! I'm Hinata Hyuuga for Kami's sake! Don't you remember–"

"Yeah I still do. The shy nerdy girl who was nuts over me. Trust me, I wish I can just forget you. But, please leave us alone. Don't bring anymore forces. Please!" Naruto cut in, his temper flaring.

_God, I can't believe I'm doing this! I'm fucking begging her to not follow us!_ He thought.

Hinata Hyuuga sighed and glared at Naruto, who turned around and walked back to the Audi. Sakura, however, noticed a look of longing in the gray eyes. _She still didn't give up on him! It's been fucking years since high school._

But the Haruno knew that once she saw the SWAT forces retreating back to their base and the angry Hyuuga climb up in the chopper, she'd have to deal with an angrier Namikaze.

Once they were clearly 3 miles away, Naruto rounded on her, his expression livid.

"3 fucking …years! You simply forgot to tell me a very important part of your life!" he yelled out, his breath short from anger. "We started off as enemies! We nearly fucking killed each other on multiple missions …why didn't' you…your disguise was fool-proof, enough to fool me! …what the _fuck_ is wrong with you! You don't trust me!"

Sakura knew it was a foolish thing to do that. She waited till Naruto cooled off a bit and she said, staring at him dead in the eyes, "I was sworn not to reveal my identity the moment I joined ANBU!"

Naruto's eyes widened, but he was still livid, "Why?"

"Ever since I went to China to train under Tsunade, I was doing that to save myself. Save myself and escape from the fucking claws of the Uchiha. If I just tell them I'm an ANBU, I'd be dead a long time ago. You just don't get it. I joined ANBU to follow in the shoes of my _real_ family, the Haruno. I even used my mom's name back when she was in the forces!" Sakura yelled, angrily kicking dirt. She was glad Naruto was mute, because she had to continue.

"My parents died when I was barely an hour old, at that hospital in Beijing, Naruto! March 28, 1989 was a bad day for the Haruno clan, because all of them were murdered. A WHOLE FUCKING CLAN OF 23 FAMILIES!" she roared, her voice breaking but she continued. "Only one survived and that was me. For 21 years. I know it sounds fucking sappy, but I'm alive for a reason and I want to know who murdered them. That's why I joined ANBU and become an assassin, to track down those assholes. I would never _fucking_ change my family name to Uchiha. Never! Not even if they point a gun at me."

"You meant that literally?"

The two turned around, and both groaned.

A tall, slim, handsome man with spiky black hair and dead black eyes, dressed in military clothes of the US Marines, was pointing an AK-47 at Sakura Haruno. He was smirking.

"You know, keeping you alive is something we all regret."

Sakura's temper flared once more. "So that's what you, the fucking sad Uchiha, are doing in secret. Eliminating big important clans to rise to power? Like the important Haruno clan? And then cover it so well?"

Sasuke just stared at her, his black eyes boring into her. "I never said we finished off the Haru–"

_Crack!_

He never got to finish because Sakura had struck her fist against his face with so much strength, fueled by her hatred for that man, and he fell backwards.

Her chest was heaving as she said in clenched teeth, "Stop lying, you fucking son of a bitch! I know when you lie and when you speak the truth. Maybe you didn't but your fucking parents did! Would you like having your entire clan wiped out? No aunts, no uncles, no parents and no fucking siblings!"

Sasuke was casually rubbing his slightly dislocated jaw and stared up at her. Before he even got to say anything, they heard something. Naruto was the first to notice and walked back to the Audi. His laptop, an _MacBook Air_ was flashing. He quickly sat down and his face contorted onto confusion and alarm. There was an urgent message. From ANBU. It was pulsing red.

The ANBU was Japan's most modern organization, a million light-years ahead than any military base, rivaling that of the Americans. Even though there are 5 big leagues, all the messages sent and received between the assassins and the heads were color-coded.

Blue for casual, usually between assassins in the same league or between heads.

Yellow for national mission assignments.

Green for international mission assignments.

Red for very important international missions to _quietly assign_ to the _best _assassins.

Naruto's handsome face paled. Just reading the message was enough to struck him senseless. _No… it's already fucked up. Not that! Please tell me I'm having a big nightmare! _He was barely able to say anything but he had to.

"B – Blossom…" he yelled hoarsely.

Sakura frowned and backed to the Audi, still keeping an eye on the Uchiha. "What?"

When he didn't answer, she frowned again and turned around to see a message. It was blinking red. Her confusion intensified until she noticed Naruto pointing, shakingly to the message.

She quickly scanned it, and her green eyes widened. She read it again, more slowly. "No…" she managed. "Th – this isn't real! Must be fake."

"I checked."

Sakura and Naruto locked eyes. Sasuke came over, and sighed. "I came here to tell you this, Sakura. The ANBU is getting wiped out."

Naruto frowned, "Since when are you on our side you bastard?"

Sasuke stared at him, "Think about it, dope. Without the ANBU, there's no safe Japan. Thanks to the ANBU, we can slowly get rid of the Yakuza, who are still growing stronger by the day. I don't know much about it, but it employs police officers, ex-FBI and CIA agents, ex-business men like you two. But it's still a secret organization in order for it not to get wiped out. The CIA made a mistake of revealing themselves and had a few close calls. I mean, all terrorist groups are trying to destroy the CIA and FBI but did you hear any attacks on the ANBU?"

Sakura shook her head slowly, "Not until today. What the hell is the Akatsuki?"

Sasuke looked away, closing his eyes for a moment and opening them again, "My brother had joined it a decade ago. It started off as a small group to make a _coup d'etat _against Japan's government and to topple off the Emperor. I'm sure both of you knew that the ANBU was formed 12 years ago, right?"

Sakura and Naruto nodded, and they all sat inside the car, listening to Sasuke's story but they were both still suspicious that he came to tell them that.

"The ANBU was formed by Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo in 1998, but then you know the story, Danzo had a big fight with Hiruzen and then went on to form Root in 2000, a secret part of the ANBU, hand-picked by Danzo himself. The ANBU grew from being a national academy to become international. Now it's Tsunade who's the Head, working in China. But, Akatsuki isn't trying to take down the Emperor anymore but…"

"It wants to destroy ANBU and kill all of the agents," Sakura continued in a hollow voice. This means that all her close friends and Naruto are in danger.

Sasuke nodded. "The ANBU doesn't just employ people who are physically fit and has experience in self-defence, espionage and police. It also employs the world's strongest men, even the Jewish employers owning the biggest banks!" he said.

An uncomfortable silence settled between the three of them at this latest news. It was now getting serious. The ANBU itself knew that the moment it became international, it had made a huge risk of getting self-destroyed.

But it was sadly interrupted. They turned and their eyes widened. A huge army of black vans, Kawasakis with their riders in full black but with different emblems on the front, Toyotas and Hondas was coming to them. Any normal civilian would stare at the army in confusion but to the two assassins, they stared at the army in awe.

A chopper settled down and a tall woman, in complete black combat clothes with a long green cloak came out, her blonde hair flying. She strode calmly to them and was grim-faced. Sakura and Naruto knew her only too well.

Tsunade cleared her throat. "I believe you received the message, seeing that look on you two. Welcome back, Sasuke. Are you going to help us or betray us like last time?" she asked in a hard voice.

Sasuke sighed, "You left me no choice, Tsunade. The US Marines agreed to work with you."

"Woah! Back up! Sasuke, what the hell? I thought you were a normal owner of _Uchiha& Haruno_," Sakura said, cutting in.

Sasuke turned to her. "It wasn't a bank in the first place. You thought the Uchiha is a cold-blooded family? Trust me, we are the ones who financed the ANBU in order to rise and become the strongest organization of the world. Fugaku is the Elite Commander."

Naruto gave out a low whistle. The Elite Commander is the title that rivaled that of a Head, but it was a title for the person who _helps_ ANBU and not _command_ it, like Tsunade.

Tsunade held out a hand, "Alright. Enough chit-chat. Now that we know all about the Akatsuki and who could possibly be behind it, we're going to go and beat their asses. But, since Blossom is still on that death game with Sai, we'll have to start deploying our troops. Fox and Blossom, you get to Miyasaki. Try to find as much as possible about Sai while you're at it. Akatsuki and Sai might be linked to it. Alright?"

They nodded.

Tsunade continued, "Sasuke will be accompanying you because he'll play as the double agent, along with his own team. And I know that Sasuke had been trained to do that. You'll be Team 7. Dismissed!"

Sakura and Naruto were still in the Audi GT, with Sasuke behind them in his black Toyota FJ Cruiser. The reason why Sasuke was in such a big car was because of three main reasons.

1, there were 3 big metal suitcases of explosives and guns. It was equally shared between the three of them.

2, there was Karin, Japan's top female hacker who finds hacking in the Pentagon a piece of cake and she had proved it. She was Sasuke's co-op and his long-time girlfriend despite the both of them cheating on each other. The JT's back seat was gone to be replaced by many computers and PDAs on Velcro straps on the inside walls.

3, Suigetsu was occupying the shotgun seat with a gun to protect the Audi.

The ride to Miyasaki will be …interesting? Tune in for more!

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PLEASE READ THIS TO HELP YOU

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it belongs to the great Masashi Kishimoto. And no, he didn't pay me to write this.**

**The whole ANBU story is strictly fan-made. Akatsuki isn't new to you all, since it is the series original group with a few changes (So that it doesn't bore you all XD)**

**SAI IS NOT PART OF TEAM 7! HE'S THE BAD GUY…or is he? **

**Fugaku Uchiha is Sasuke and Itachi's dad.**

**Hope you're enjoying the story and I'll try my best to make it even better and less lame with a lot more twists. More characters to come – and those who are formerly dead will be revived! :P **

**PS: Reviews, criticisms and favings are appreciated! :D (this is my first fanfic and I don't know why I suddenly made a disclaimer in the 4th chapter… sue me!)**


	5. Chapter 5

Going Down with You

**Apology: I am so sorry for the waiting and so that you don't kill me, I made this chapter a little longer and included a character I love, Deidara-sempai! (and you all missed of course) To those who despise Sasuke, I also despise him. In no way I'll include him in the suspence and action XD**

**Thanks to all those who are reading the story and will be reviewing this one! :3 **

**Again, Naruto is under copyright. He belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and no one else! **

Chapter 5: Bombs Away!

When Tsunade mentioned that Sasuke will accompany them, it wasn't meant literally. They were actually on their own. Of course. He was still a jerk and a complete _teme_ who just didn't give a flying fuck about them. But he did that for good reasons.

One, if he was seen by one of Sai's army patrols with Sakura and Naruto, it will rise suspicions to Sai and it will ruin the whole mission of bringing down Akatsuki. So, he was watching the two ANBU assassins from far away.

Two, he just wasn't a great teammate in the first place.

Three, he wasn't really trusted to Sakura and Naruto. Not with him being a double agent.

Naruto was in the shotgun seat, snoring lightly with his hand clutching his iPhone which was playing Justin Nozuka's _Criminal_. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Last night's events were just mind-blowing. First, he was woken up by Sakura's screams from her nightmare, to being tracked by Japan's Special Forces, to running away in the middle of the night and then being tracked down by SWAT, meeting Hinata Hyuuga again … knowing Sakura's real identity.

At that, he couldn't believe how stupid he was. Blossom was his arch-enemy and rival, coming from the Suna Faction 4 years ago. She was at first an assassin to not be trusted because she didn't reveal her reasons for switching to the Konoha Faction. Naruto was the captain and he had all rights to know, but Blossom had lied to him and passed as Yuki Haraiko. Soon, Tsunade found out who she was and still didn't inform Naruto.

And Blossom's arrival at KF (Konoha Faction) wasn't welcome at all. First, she treated Naruto like shit and almost never obeyed his orders; being cold and sarcastic at anything Kiba and Choji jokes and these two were the clowns of the faction. Blossom was almost as silent as Shino, the booby-trapper, but even Shino obeys Naruto. Although she was good friends with Shikamaru, the battle strategist of KF, she was still distant.

It was like that for 3 whole years. And there were many missions sent from the other factions to KF to terminate Blossom, but it was always aborted by Tsunade for unknown reasons.

And after three whole years of hatred between his co-captain and himself, Naruto finally figured out that he nearly killed his best childhood friend and his past love interest. Being an ANBU was tough and usually, emotions come third…after obeying orders and loyalty to a Faction.

And Naruto, till now, didn't know whether he still loved Sakura like in high school. She was so different than the 21-year-old woman now. Sakura Haruno, at 16, was pretty much the hot-headed girl who was respected and popular, for being a genius, sport star and the school's lifeguard. She was also popular among the guys.

And both of them dated when they were 17. It went all the way to having sex without being too drunk. It was Ino who was behind this, since she invited the whole 12th graders to her mansion to celebrate the end of high school. And well, it was mostly alcohol, drugs and raging hormones that made Naruto grab Sakura and pull her into an empty closet. But they both enjoyed it for it was Sakura's first time… even though it would be the last time they did it.

Now 4 years later, this stupid mission was pulling the old feelings back to the surface, making it uncomfortable. Naruto wanted to move on and get over her; to finally find a girl to spend a long time with instead of the 2-3 months with one then dumping her …and one-night stands he faced …because it was Sakura who blocked that freedom. She made his life hell, like what she told him when she joined KF.

He woke up slowly blinking to the unusual darkness. _What the – ?_ He wasn't in his car, in the shotgun seat. Instead, he was on a lumpy bed in an unusual room, looking up at a hanging lamp. It was complete darkness, except for the moonlight seeping in through the curtains. He recognized city skylights. Where were they? Where was Sakura?

Naruto was about to call out as he sat up on his elbows but something was pulling him back down. He looked down and noticed a mess of dark hair. Sighing with relief, he understood. Sakura stopped at some hotel and booked a room for the night, and she was exhausted.

A small smile crept up on him, when she was dead-tired, she snored as loudly as any guy would. Naruto sighed, playing with her hair, and taking deep breaths. Every muscle hurt from the running and the fear of death at every corner. Few minutes later, his body gave up on staying awake and soon, loud snores could be heard.

**Morning**

3 days passed since Fox saw Sai. And that meant three more days before the deadline. But a simple game didn't always mean it was so easy. When Sai gave him 6 days, it was for a simple and obvious reason.

Anyone can reach Miyasaki, which is on the other side of Japan, west from Tokyo, in a matter of hours by plane. But when Sai, the gay mastermind, made this race-against-time game, it meant that there will be obstacles down the way.

Sakura was woken up from the strange sounds around her. It was definitely not the AC from the hotel room she booked the last afternoon with Sasuke booking the room above them. So what could it be?

Finally cracking one eye open, she immediately closed it. No, she is in some nightmare and she'll soon wake up to find herself in that hotel room with Naruto beside her, sleeping like a log.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes again and was disappointed to see she wasn't dreaming at all. _Why am I in an orange room?_

It was completely orange, from the walls to the floor and even the furniture! And there was a big flat screen TV in front of her. It was blank.

She looked around, her sight nearly blinded from the intensity of the orange around her. But no blonde dressed in black-and-green camo clothes. Sakura, even though she was pretty much in danger, almost snorted to herself. She loathed orange and when Naruto had that orange obsession, she was dying to tell Naruto to get over that weird color. It took him a lot of will to wear less orange, or at least no more orange pants.

Blossom felt her pulse quicken and looked down at her left wrist. Her eyes widened in shock, the ticking bomb was pulsing green. _He's 500 metres away from me_.

Sitting up, she felt her pockets. She still had her Cube and even her gun, _Sacrifice_. So what the fuck was going on?

"Hey sexy," someone said.

Sakura spun around and almost shouted out "Ino!" before getting a grip on herself. Her green eyes widened, _am I looking at a guy or a girl?_

The guy/girl stepped forward, smiling. "Well, I hope you were glad that I let you both continue your beauty sleep. And trust me, you both got enough of it."

Sakura was just plainly confused. She decided to remain silent.

The guy/girl sighed, "Now, let's get cracking!" he said, his face contorted in an eerie grin that resembled the Joker, but on a more attractive face. "You see, Sakuraaa, I found you and your boyfriend in that hotel room. I know all about you and your pathetic fate so I wanted to spice up your last days left to live. Welcome to my personal bomb game!"

Sakura looked around her, and suddenly smirked. "Hmm…where are the sharp pointy objects, the bombs? And what's with the orange?"

The guy/girl sighed, "One, my name's Deidara you bitch. If I reveal all the booby traps, it won't be such an exciting game in the end! I like orange because it's a color that usually blinds people. They soon become color-blind and it plays tricks on their vision."

"Awesome," Sakura said in an emotion-less voice. _And I thought we'd arrive to Miyasaki today…_

Deidara snickered. "Now I'm sure you're wondering where your boyfriend is. Well, he's in the room next to this one. The walls aren't so soundproof and once I wake him up, the game begins. You basically have to pass through these brightly-lit walls and avoid all the booby traps I set up, from one corridor to the other. Each corridor has a color. Have fun!"

Sakura raised up a hand, "Hold up. Aren't there any arrows? You know, to avoid us going around in circles?"

Deidara laughed, "Yes. You just have to find them at the naked eye!" he said cheerfully and pulled out something Sakura immediately understood.

Her eyes widened. "That's C-4!"

"Very good, Haruno. Now you know that this game is for real. Oi, Tobi!" Deidara yelled out, his head turned up to an orange-and-black microphone.

A cracker exploded above and a squeaky childish voice boomed across the orange room. "Hai, sempai?"

Sakura raised her eyebrows. She stared at the microphone and then back at Deidara who looked annoyed. He sighed, "Tobi, crank the music already! Fuck, it's so boring without some good songs!"

And suddenly an ear-shattering heavy drum beat rippled across the room. Unconsciously, Sakura's lips twitched in a small smile. It was No Connection's _Feed the Machine_, one of her favorite heavy metal songs. Well, she kind of stole it from Naruto's playlist. And she had no idea said guy was staring up at the ceiling in his own room in surprise.

Deidara clapped, but the music was so loud she barely heard it. She saw him click on a remote controller and a flat screen TV came out of nowhere, instructions were written on it in orange color.

**WELCOME TO TERROR ON EARTH, DEAR PLAYER ;)**

**THE RULES ARE SIMPLE, THERE ARE NONE! **

**YOU ARE FREE TO USE THE AVAILABLE FULLY STOCKED WEAPONS ONCE YOU FIND THEM AND USE THEM AT YOUR WILL. TO MAKE THE GAME EVEN MORE EXCITING, THERE WILL BE TWISTS AND OF COURSE, JUICY BOMBS AT EVERY CORNER! PLAYERS, THE RULE IS TO SIMPLY AVOID KILLING THE OTHER DESPITE THE MANY OBSTACLES.**

**WE ARE ABSOLUTELY NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES, SUDDEN COLOR BLINDNESS, MENTAL BREAKDOWNS, SUICIDAL MOTIVES AND DEATHS. **

**HAVE FUN! **

Deidara waved goodbye and Sakura immediately winced, the song volume increased to its maximum. The orange wasn't helping at all, and she nearly stepped on a false floor before it caved in and spikes were seen below.

The Flat Screen TV now blared:

**FEED THE MACHINE – NO CONNECTION**

Taking a deep breath, she tried to focus but the room, being strangely rectangular with many square boxes everywhere, could hide booby traps. The loud music was also hurting her than giving her motivation.

Sakura sighed and recalled what Deidara said, the walls aren't soundproof but how are you supposed to hear your friend on the other side of the wall when heavy metal is blaring out from a hi-tech boombox?

Naruto, on the other hand, already knew what to do. He was personally trained for that since he was personally trained under Jiraiya, his godfather. Although he was known to be the author behind Japan's bestselling porn novels, Jiraiya was a respected assassin serving ANBU ever since 1990.

He had no trouble finding a Beretta 9 mm wedged between two C-4 cases and firing at them before they both blow him up. He was smirking throughout, both at his favorite song and at the easy game he was in. but worry crept up at him and he constantly looked down at the wrist. Thankfully the color was blue. Sakura wasn't that far and she must be in the same hell as he was in.

But he wasn't colorblind. Orange was his favorite color.

Soon, both assassins reached the end of the first room, fully de-activating the 14 bombs and grabbing whatever weapon they could find. But, it was far from over. They ended Round 1 in one whole piece and they'll soon understand that the coming 5 Rounds would be tough.

As if on cue, the music changed.

**UNDER THE KNIFE – RISE AGAINST**

_"To the sound of the heartbeat pounding away.."_

Sakura blinked and then closed her eyes once she reached the end of the orange corridor. She was much more focused after her near-death and her mistake of dropping her guard and now, on full alert she closed her eyes.

Opening the door at the same time, both stepped from bright orange to forest green, already having the upcoming eye glare from the sudden color change.

Almost immediately, a spear was thrown straight through them. Even if they were in seperate rooms, they received the same dose of torture.

Following the spears were several javelins and spikes. They dodged them all. Deidara had made each corridor of its own. Orange for C-4; Forest green for the corridor of death with spikes, javelins and spears**.**

Sakura wasn't so lucky though. After hopping from one tile to another from the thrown javelins, she heard metal articulators tensing to throw one more and she completely stayed still, waiting to doge it.

That was her mistake. It was just a trick for the ears, because no javelin was thrown. Instead, the tile under her caved in and she nearly fell…if she didn't hold on to the strong tile right next to that one. And if she looked down, she could have seen a purple skull over that tile… the international symbol for death underneath.

So she nearly died at Round 2.

Naruto also had a close call. He was past the javelins and criss-crossing through the swinging spears until they suddenly stopped. He looked around and hesitated into continuing on his way. Finally, he made his mind up and did that.

Big mistake. He nearly got sliced in half if he hadn't had such fast reflexes and jump to the side and rolling to safety from a spike.

Deidara wasn't bluffing. This was simply a game to play till you eventually meet your fate.


End file.
